Numerous attempts have been made to prevent accidents while using a drill chuck under circumstances in which a machine operator has either left the chuck key in the drill chuck or is otherwise exposed to broken drill bits or drilling chips; however, these guards have not been sufficiently effective in terms of safety to guard the machine operator because of insufficient features or means of the guard being adaptable to various types of drill presses or other machines with revolving spindles, as in the case of, for example, milling machines.
Therefore, a need exists in this area for an effective guard that has features which enable the guard to be adaptable to various types of drill presses and other machines with revolving spindles
U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,222 discloses a safety guard for a foot-actuated control, wherein the foot control guard comprises a base, a mounting cover for the base, side guards and a front closure to prevent accidental actuation of a treadle switch. The foot control guard provides complete enclosure for the switch or valve control and the front closure of the guard opens sideways about a vertical hinge axis, so that the front closure completely blocks longitudinal foot movement into the switch enclosure and engagement by a foot moving in this direction instead tends to urge the front closure into a closed rather than an open position.
However, the guard in the foregoing patent ('222) has no capability of insulating a machine operator from drill presses or machines with revolving spindles.